We’re interrupted before Jade can respond to my question. Scarlett steps in from outside, glancing between us. She holds out a phone to Jade. “Sorry to interrupt. Your mom has called twice.”
She takes the phone and stares at it with a look of shock or disbelief on her beautiful features. “My mom. Crap. I forgot she’s going to the resort today. She wants to help decorate even though I told her that was already being handled. I need to go make sure she doesn’t cause a scene.”
“Do you want me to go?” Scarlett asks. “I can manage Momma Davis.”
“No, I’ve got her.” Jade’s mouth pulls into a tight line, while she continues to stare at her phone, then she looks up at me through thick, dark lashes. “Can you come with me?”
As soon as she’s asked, she seems more nervous and unsure. She adds, “It’ll give us time to talk.”
“Yeah.” Suddenly my nerves amp up too.
“Jade, wait,” Scarlett calls as we start for the door.
The two women share a look that I can’t decipher, then Jade goes to Scarlett and hugs her hard. I glance away to give them a moment of privacy, and then a few seconds later, Jade is back by my side.
“Ready?”
As she drives to the resort, Jade lays out the plan. “If we’re going to do this, we need to get our story straight and establish some rules. A few people have met Sam, but most haven’t, and I’ve never mentioned him in the articles, so you should be easy enough to explain. Your middle name doesn’t happen to be Sam, does it?” She briefly removes her stare from the road to look at me.
“No.” I shake my head.
“It’s fine. I’ll tell them you didn’t want your real name to get out before the wedding since you’re a local celebrity.”
An involuntary groan escapes.
“No?” She makes a turn into the hotel parking lot.
“It makes me sound like a diva.”
She parks and kills the engine. “No, not a diva. Someone who values privacy in his personal life. Do you have an agent or PR person we need to work with for an official statement?”
My throat tightens, and this small car starts to close in on me.
“Look. It’s a lot. If you’re having second thoughts, say the word.”
“And then what would you do?”
“I haven’t a clue.” She blows out a breath that lifts the short, red bangs off her forehead.
“I’ll call my agent this afternoon.” I have no idea how I’m going to word that conversation.
“Okay.” She rests both hands on top of the steering wheel.
“What about your mom? Has she not met Sam before?”
“Definitely not,” she says. Then sinks back into the seat. “My mom and I don’t have a great relationship.”
I nod slowly. I assumed as much from what little she said at the bachelorette party.
Jade must feel like she needs to tell me more, or maybe she’s just stalling, because she continues, “My dad walked out when I was a baby, and the next eighteen years of my life, she dated one loser after another. I’m sure she’d say it was all in the name of love, but we moved around a lot, and it was hard and frustrating. She always seemed to care about them more than me, you know? Sounds petty and childish saying it now. Anyway, I left as soon as I graduated high school.”
“I’m sorry.”
She shakes her head. “I just thought you should understand the situation.”
“Okay.”
Angling her body toward mine, she asks, “Do you have family we need to…”
“No, no family.”
“Well, that’s lucky,” she mutters, then curses. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“It’s fine,” I say. “Is your boss going to be cool with this? With me?”
“Are you kidding? She’s going to be thrilled. You just upped the ante.”
I stare at her with confusion, and she lets out a little laugh.
“You may not like being referred to as a local celebrity, but you are. She’s going to eat this up. Trust me. We will probably have to keep up the story for six months or so, until we can go our separate ways, without causing a big stir. By then, hopefully, I’ll be writing about ring insurance or beauty trends instead of the life of a bride. Does six months work for you?”
I incline my head as I think. Six months doesn’t seem like such a big deal. Once the season starts, I’ll be so busy that the days always pass in a blur. “That puts us in late December. I’d want to wait until after the season to make a big announcement, so it doesn’t take focus away from the team.”
“Of course. That shouldn’t be a problem.” She rubs her lips together as she studies me. “I swear I’ll stop asking this, but are you sure? We barely know each other, and even in the best-case scenario, we’re going to have to spend a lot of time together in the next six months.”
Something in the panic of her voice, combined with her ability to worry about me instead of herself in a time when it’s her life on the verge of blowing up, has me reaching across the console and taking her hand, interlacing our fingers. Her skin is soft and her long nails scrape against my knuckles as she squeezes my hand back.
“I’m sure.”
“O-kay. I guess we’re doing this then,” she says quietly. “Ready to meet my mom?”
I drop her hand, and she reaches for the door handle.
“Eric,” I say before we get out, “my middle name is Eric.”
A relieved smile lights up her face. “Nice to meet you, Declan Eric Sato.”
